A taskforce set up to tackle the area’s numerous health problems has laid out its strategy to deal with the area’s ill health.

In some parts of Nottinghamshire, almost 70 percent of people are overweight, the rate of women smoking when they give birth is 50 percent higher than the national average, and alcohol-related hospital admissions are among the highest in the East Midlands.

However in parts of the county such as Rushcliffe, the population is considerably healthier.

This has created a ‘health inequality’ where people in some areas can expect to live eight years longer than people in other parts, according to the taskforce’s leader, Dr John Doddy.

As a practicing GP at Hicking Lane Medical Practice in Stapleford, and a Conservative county councillor representing the Stapleford and Broxtowe Central ward, Dr Doddy says his team has identified the key factors driving health inequality, and is now working to identify key policies.

The Nottinghamshire Health and Wellbeing Board has been set up by the county council.

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Speaking to the Post, he said: "I’m right at the coal face of the defence against the problems that exist in our society, and in the last six months, we've been working to develop a strategy to look at the information that’s out there and then see what we’re going to do about it.

"It’s all about having the information at hand, because if you don’t know what you’re trying to improve you’re going to struggle.

An overweight man

"It’s important to bring the issues in front of people, and I think figures can be a good way of doing that if people are turning a blind eye or accepting it as the norm."

The data reveals a startling gap between different parts of the county.

Mansfield has the highest rate in the East Midlands of mothers who are still smoking at the time the give birth – 21 percent of new mums in 2016/17, compared to a national average of 10.7 percent. In Rushcliffe the rate is just 4.4 percent.

There is also a trend upwards in Mansfield, despite the national averages going down year-on-year.

In 2016/17, 17.6 percent of new mums smoked at the time of delivery.

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On obesity, three of the boroughs in Nottinghamshire are above the national average of 61.3 percent; Ashfield (68.5 percent) Gedling (69.4 percent) and Mansfield (67.3 percent). Nottingham is slightly above the average, at 61.4 percent.

But two are below; Broxtowe (56.9 percent) and Rushcliffe (58 percent).

The differences in people’s health across the county has lead to a significant divulgence in life expectancy.

Dr Doddy said: "If you look at people in Rushcliffe who live eight years longer than people outside the doorstep of my surgery (in Stapleford), you have to think why is that happening?

“You realise that 50 percent of that difference – four whole years – is just down to smoking, so if we can change that it would create a health equality change of 50 percent.”

Dr Doddy said his committee has no budget of its own, but instead aims to use the budgets of other health bodies by bringing health sector leaders together.

He added: “You don’t have to spend billions trying to equal out all the other inequalities over-night. If we can just tackle the smoking you can half the problem.”

Another plan involves introducing what is known as the Health in all Policies scheme. This would involve potential health implications of all council actions being considered before a decision is made.

Councillor Nick McDonald is the Labour councillor representing the Bulwell Forest ward, and is the portfolio holder for adults and health at Nottingham City Council as well as the chairman of the city council’s Health and Wellbeing Board.